The present invention relates to a system and method for acquiring population data from engine control modules and performing statistical analyses for use in calibrating, diagnosing, and designing an engine.
Electronically controlled internal combustion engines are used in a wide variety of applications including passenger vehicles, marine vessels, earth moving and construction equipment, stationary generators, and on-highway trucks, among others. Electronic engine controls provide a wide range of flexibility in tailoring engine performance to a particular application without significant changes to engine hardware. Typical engines include sensors used to control the engine and for providing information to the vehicle owner, operator, and service personnel.
Sensors may be used to provide engine protection by quickly detecting adverse operating conditions which may indicate a fault or malfunction to reduce or eliminate any permanent engine damage. The engine control module (ECM) monitors the sensor inputs to detect conditions that may trigger a diagnostic code or fault message which may be used to warn operators of a problem. The diagnostic code or fault message may also be used by service personnel, and maintenance personnel to troubleshoot and repair the engine. Calibration variables are used to set the acceptable operating parameters for the engine and typically vary based on the engine size, type, and the application for the engine. While some calibration values are set by factory personnel, many may be modified by or at the request of the owner/operator based on the particular application.
When an engine is serviced, information from the engine ECM data storage devices can be used locally by service personnel to analyze engine operation faults. This information is not currently accumulated or analyzed on a statistical basis to make engine design modifications, optimize engine calibration design, collect warranty data, or determine the extent of optional feature acceptance by customers.
These and other problems and disadvantages inherent in the prior art are addressed by the present invention.
According to the present invention, a method is provided for acquiring population data from engine control modules having a memory for storing data relating to parameters from engine operation. Stored data is downloaded from a plurality of engine control modules when they are reprogrammed to develop a set of population data. The stored population data is communicated to a central data base. After a statistically significant portion of the population is received by the central database, population data may be analyzed to make engine design modifications.
According to other aspects of the invention, the stored data is obtained from sensors that measure engine operating parameters. The sensors may be selected from the group of sensors including, but not limited to, temperature sensors, pressure sensors, restriction sensors, and fluid level sensors. The stored data may also be a calculated parameter or a set of engine calibration configuration settings.
According to the method of the invention, the step of statistically analyzing population data may include performing statistical calculations such as mean calculations, minimum experience value calculations, maximum experience value calculations, standard deviation calculations, histogram plots, trend analysis calculations, and frequency of incident calculations. Analyzing population data statistically may also extend to correlating the time of an incident with other parameters relating to engine operation. According to the invention, the statistical analysis of the population data may be utilized to design hardware, optimize engine calibrations, collect warranty data or determine the extent of optional feature acceptance by customers.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art in view of the attached drawings and following detailed description of a best mode of practicing the invention.